1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to measuring and recording apparatus and, more specifically, to apparatus for detecting and recording the occurrence of events at a surveillance site.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of counting and recording devices have been devised to detect and count the occurrence of events at a predetermined site or location. Particularly, such counter and recording devices have been utilized as vehicle traffic counters or for counting passengers boarding or exiting from vehicles, such as busses, etc.
Such recording devices employ a sensor for detecting the passage of an object past a surveillance point. Infrared, photoelectric and ultrasonic sensors have been employed to detect the movement of persons past the surveillance point and pneumatic air tubes have been employed in vehicle traffic counters. The output of the sensor is input to a counter which provide a total count of event occurances at the surveillance site. The accumulated count data is then subsequently processed in various ways for display and/or analysis.
Some of the known event counting and recording devices incorporate elaborate and complex circuitry to detect the direction of movement of objects past the surveillance point and the start or completion of the event. While providing an accurate count of event occurrences, such circuits increase the cost and size of such counting and recording devices.
In tracking wild animals, such as deer or bear, for hunting and other purposes, it is desirable to know when an animal passes a predetermined location. While the above-described counting and recording devices could be employed for this purpose, their size and weight limits their portability which is important in tracking wild animals which require such devices to be carried a considerable distance into woods or fields. Further, the devices utilizing alternating current electrical power are not usable at all to track animals in the wild and those employing direct current electric power from internal storage batteries have had a short, useful operative surveillance period due to the high power drain imposed by the complex circuitry used in such devices. Finally, the known counting and recording devices provide only a total count of the number of event occurrences at the surveillance site without any reference to the time or date of such event occurrences.
It is known that large animals, such as deer or bear, generally follow a fixed pattern or path of movement in the wild on a cyclic basis over a one to three day period in which a single animal will pass certain locations at the same time of day in each cycle while feeding, resting, etc. Thus, to successfully locate such animals, it is necessary to determine the time that an animal passes a predetermined point or location and not just a count of the number of animals which pass the point or location.
A known timing device for determining the time that an animal passes a predetermined location utilizes a digital timer activated by a string tautly placed across the expected path of the animal. The animal passing the timer trips the string which stops the timer. The digital display on the timer provides an indication of the time when the animal has passed the monitored point or location. However, this timing device is utilized for a single, one time operation and provides no indication of the time of passage of subsequent animals past the surveillance point.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an event occurrence detection and recording apparatus which provides a time indication of the frequency of occurrence of events at a predetermined surveillance point or location. It would also be desirable to provide an event occurrence detection and recording apparatus which indicates the time and number of occurrences of events at a predetermined surveillance location. It would also be desirable to provide an event occurrence detection and recording apparatus which indicates the time and number of event occurrences at a surveillance site over a long time interval, such as several days. It would also be desirable to provide an event occurrence detection and recording apparatus which is small, compact and lightweight for easy portability. It would also be desirable to provide an event occurrence detection and recording apparatus which utilizes an internal power source enabling the use of the apparatus in remote areas, such as fields and woods. Finally, it would also be desirable to provide an event occurrence detection and recording apparatus which possesses low electrical power requirements so as to enable its use over a long time period.